Hydrotreating with catalysts comprising mixtures of an amorphous sulfide or trivalent chromium and microcrystallites of molybdenum sulfide or tungsten sulfide

ABSTRACT

A process for the hydrorefining of hydrocarbon feed to reduce the contents of sulfur and nitrogen compounds therein is disclosed which comprises contacting the hydrocarbon feed at elevated temperatures of at least about 150° C. in the presence of hydrogen with a catalyst consisting essentially of mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of metal sulfide of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixture thereof. These compositions have been found to be useful hydrotreating catalysts having nitrogen removal activity superior to that of commercial catalysts derived from cobalt molybdate on alumina.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 656,145, filed 9.28.84, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 567,822 filed 01/03/84, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 454,384 filed 12/29/82, all now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

A composition of matter comprising a mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of metal sulfide of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixtures thereof. Still further, this invention relates to useful hydroprocessing catalysts, their preparation and use, said catalysts comprising a mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of metal sulfide of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixtures thereof.

2. Background of the Disclosure

The petroleum industry is increasinly turning to heavy crudes, resids, coal and tar sands as sources for future feedstocks. Feedstocks derived from these heavy materials contain more sulfur and nitrogen than feedstocks derived from more conventional crude oils. These feeds therefore require a considerable amount of upgrading in order to obtain usable products therefrom, such upgrading or refining generally being accomplished by hydrotreating processes which are well-known in the petroleum industry.

These processes require the treating with hydrogen of various hydrocarbon fractions, or whole heavy feeds, or feedstocks, in the presence of hydrotreating catalysts to effect conversion of at least a portion of the feeds, or feedstocks to lower molecular weight hydrocarbons, or to effect the removal of unwanted components, or compounds, or their conversion to innocuous or less undesirable compounds. Hydrotreating may be applied to a variety of feedstocks, e.g., solvents, light, middle, or heavy distillate feeds and residual feeds, or fuels. In hydrotreating relatively light feeds, the feeds are treated with hydrogen, often to improve odor, color, stability, combustion characteristics, and the like. Unsaturated hydrocarbons are hydrogenated. Sulfur and nitrogen are removed in such treatments. In the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of heavier feedstocks, or residua, the sulfur compounds are hydrogenated and cracked. Carbon-sulfur bonds are broken, and the sulfur for the most part is converted to hydrogen sulfide which is removed as a gas from the process. Hydrodenitrogenation (HDN), to some degree also generally accompanies hydrodesulfurization reactions. In the hydrodenitrogenation of heavier feedstocks, or residua, the nitrogen compounds are hydrogenated and cracked. Carbon-nitrogen bonds are broken, and the nitrogen is converted to ammonia and evolved from the process. Hydrodesulfurization, to some degree also generally accompanies hydrodenitrogenation reactions. In the hydrodesulfurization of relatively heavy feedstocks, emphasis is on the removal of sulfur from the feedstock. In the hydrodenitrogenation of relatively heavy feedstocks emphasis is on the removal of nitrogen from the feedstock. Albeit, hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation reactions generally occur together, it is usually far more difficult to achieve effective hydrodenitrogenation of feedstocks than hydrodesulfurization of feedstocks.

Catalysts precursors most commonly used for these hydrotreating reactions include materials such as cobalt molybdate on alumina, nickel on alumina, cobalt molybdate promoted with nickel, nickel tungstate, etc. Also, it is well-known to those skilled in the art to use certain transition metal sulfides such as cobalt and molybdenum sulfides and mixtures thereof to upgrade oils containing sulfur and nitrogen compounds by catalytically removing such compounds in the presence of hydrogen, which processes are collectively known as hydrotreating or hydrorefining processes, it being understood that hydrorefining also includes some hydrogenation of aromatic and unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 2,914,462 discloses the use of molybdenum sulfide for hydrodesulfurizing gas oil and U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,135 discloses the use of molybdenum sulfide for hydrorefining sulfur and nitrogen-containing hydrocarbon oils. U.S. Pat. No. 2,715,603, discloses the use of molybdenum sulfide as a catalyst for the hydrogenation of heavy oils. Molybdenum and tungsten sulfides have other uses as catalysts in reactions such as hydrogenation, methanation and water gas shift.

In general, with molybdenum and other transition metal sulfide catalysts as well as with other types of catalysts, higher catalyst surface areas result in more active catalysts than similar catalysts with lower surface areas. Thus, those skilled in the art are constantly trying to achieve catalysts that have higher surface areas. More recently, it has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,243,553, and 4,243,554 that molybdenum sulfide catalysts or relatively high surface area may be obtained by thermally decomposing selected thiomolybdate salts at temperatures ranging from 300°-800° C. in the presence of essentially oxygenfree atmospheres. Suitable atmospheres are disclosed as consisting of argon, a vacuum, nitrogen and hydrogen. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,554 an ammonium thiomolybdate salt is decomposed by heating at a rate in excess of 15° C. per minute, whereas in U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,553, a substituted ammonium thiomolybdate salt is thermally decomposed at a very slow heating rate of from about 0.5° to 2° C./min. The processes disclosed in these patents are claimed to produce molybdenum disulfide catalysts having superior properties for water gas shift and methanation reactions and for catalyzed hydrogenation or hydrotreating reactions.

Catalysts comprising molybdenum sulfide in combination with other metal sulfides are also known. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,003 discloses an ironchromium combination for desulfurizing olefinic gasoline fractions; U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,234 discloses Cr-Mo for HDS and U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,615 discloses Cr-Mo for HDN and HDS.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to new compositions of matter comprising a mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of metal sulfide of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixture thereof. By amorphous is meant a compound which exhibits no detectable crystallinity when measured by X-ray diffraction. By microcrystallites is meant crystals whose major dimensions are less than about 0.1 microns by 0.01 microns, preferably less than 0.05 microns by 0.01 microns and still more preferably 0.015 microns by 0.005 microns. These compositions have been found to be useful as hydroprocessing catalysts, such as hydrotreating catalysts having high activity and selectivity for nitrogen removal.

The composition of this invention are obtained by heating one or more catalyst precursors in the presence of sulfur and under oxygen-free conditions at a temperature of at least about 200° C. for a time sufficient to form said catalyst. The catalyst precursor will comprise a mixture of (i) a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium and (ii) a thiometallate salt of the general formula (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄), wherein y is any value ranging from 0 to 1, and wherein L' is the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, L, with a charge sufficient to balance the dinegative charge of the thiometallate anion. The ligand L is one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the oxygen-free conditions will be an atmosphere comprising a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide.

Hydroprocessing catalyst is meant to include catalysts useful for any process that is carried out in the presence of hydrogen, including, but not limited to, hydrocracking, hydrodenitrogenation, hydrodesulfurization, hydrogantion of aromatic and aliphatic unsaturated hydrocarbons, methanation, water gas shift reactions, etc. These reactions include hydrotreating and hydrorefining reactions, the difference generally being thought of as more of a difference in degree than in kind, with hydrotreating conditions being more severe than hydrorefining conditions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As set forth above, the compositions of this invention comprise a mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of metal sulfide of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixture thereof. As stated above, by amorphous is meant a compound which exhibits no detectable crystallinity when measured by X-ray diffraction. Thus, compositions of this invention analyzed by X-ray diffraction have exhibited no detectable crystallinity for the chromium sulfide. Further, compositions of this invention analyzed by high resolution scanning transmission electron microscropy (HREM) with a microscope having a 4 Å point-to-point resolution revealed the presence of less than 5% of the total Cr₂ S₃ in detectable crystalline form. By microcrystallites (of tungsten or molybdenum sulfide) is meant crystals whose major dimensions are less than about 0.1 microns by 0.01 microns, preferably less than 0.05 microns by 0.01 microns, and still more preferably less than 0.015 microns by 0.005 microns.

Analysis of compositions of matter of this invention have revealed that they can be expressed by the illustrative, but non-limiting general formula [x(Mo or W)S_(a) ](Cr₂ S_(b)) wherein 1.5<a<3.5, 1.5<b<4.5 and 0<x<4. It is preferred that 1.8<a<2.4 and 2.7<b<3.2. Chemical analysis of the composition prepared in Example 1, below, revealed it to be Cr₀.811 MoS₃.15 which can be written in the general form as (2.47 MoS₂) (Cr₂ S₃). The chemical analysis, performed at high spatial resolution in the electron microscope, also indicated microcrystallites of MoS₂ as highly dispersed on or in the amorphous Cr₂ S₃.

As stated above, the catalysts of this invention may be prepared from one or more catalyst precursors which will comprise a mixture of (i) a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium and (ii) a thiometallate salt of the general formula (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄), wherein y is any value ranging from 0 to 1 and L' is the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, L, with a charge sufficient to balance the dinegative charge of the thiometallate anion. Ligand L will be one or more neutral, nitrogen containing ligands wherein at least one of said ligands is a multidentate chelating ligans. The ligand, in its conjugate acid form, forms a cation [L']²⁺. Thus, the catalytic metal sulfide anion (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄)²⁻ will be ionically bound to the cation. By neutral is meant that the ligand itself does not have a charge.

Those skilled in the art known that the term "ligand" is used to designate functional coordinating groups which have one or more pairs of electrons available for the formation of coordinate bonds. Ligands that can form more than one bond wih a metal ion are called polydentate while ligands that can form only one bond with a metal ion are called monodentate. Monodentate ligands are not capable of forming chelates. Hence, if one uses one or more species of monodentate ligands in the precursor molecule, then one must also use more than one polydentate chelating ligand. Preferably L will be one or more polydentate chelating ligands. The total denticity of the ligand species comprising L will be six. Thus, L will be three bidentate ligands, two tridentate ligands, a mixture of a bidentate and a quadridentate ligand, a hexadentate ligand or a mixture of a polydentate ligand with monodentate ligands as long as the combination has a total denticity of six. As has heretofore been stated, it is preferred to use chelating bidentate and tridentate alkylamine ligands. In general, the ligands useful in this invention include alkyl and aryl amines and nitrogen heterocycles. Illustrative but non-limiting examples of ligands useful in the catalyst precursors of this invention are set forth below.

Monodentate ligands will include NH₃ as well as alkyl and aryl amines such as ethylamine, dimethyl amine, o-phenylene diamine and nitrogen heterocyclic amines such as pyridine, etc. Useful chelating bidentate amine ligands are illustrated by ethylenediamine, 2,2'-bipyridine, o-phenylene diamine, tetramethylethylenediamine and propane-1,3 diamine. Similarly, useful chelating tridentate amine ligands are represented by terpyridine and diethylenetriamine, while triethylenetetramine is illustrative of a useful chelating quadridentate amine ligand. Useful chelating pentadentate ligands include tetraethylene pentamine while sepulchrate (an octazacryptate) is illustrative of a suitable chelating hexadentate ligand. As a practical matter it will be preferred to use chelating, polydentate alkyl amines. Illustrative, but not limiting examples of alkyl amines that are useful in the catalyst precursor of this invention include ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, and tetraethylenetetramine. It is particularly preferred to use bidentate and tridentate alkyl amines such as ethylenediamine(en) and diethylenetriamine(dien).

The conjugate acid of ligand L, referred to as L', will have a charge sufficient to balance the dinegative charge of the thiometallate anion. For example, if L is ethylenediamine (en), L' will be [H₂ en]²⁺ and the corresponding thiomolybdate salt, for example, will be [H₂ en]₃ (MoS₄). For diethylene triamine, (dien), the corresponding salt will be [H₂ dien]₂ (MoS₄).

In general, the precursors useful for forming the compositions of this invention may be prepared by mixing a slurry of hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium Cr(OH)₃ ·xH₂ O, with one or more of the thiometallate salts containing the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, precipitating the thiometallate salt onto the slurried particles of hydrated chromium oxide and recovering the precursor. The hydrated chromium oxide may be freshly preciptated from an aqueous solution of a trivalent chromium salt. Alternatively, the source of hydrated chromic oxide may be a sol or colloidal, aqueous suspension of same. In one method of preparation the hydrated chromium oxide will be precipitated from an aqueous solution of trivalent chromium salt by contacting said salt solution with one or more basic amine chelating agents.

In one embodiment, a water soluble trivalent chromium compound is dissolved in water and hydrated chromium oxide is precipitated by addition of a ligand, L, or a mixture of ligands, L. This procedure produces a slurry or suspension of very fine particles of a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium in the aqueous phase, which also contains some free ligand L, and some of the conjugate acid of the ligand L, L'. When the conjugate acid is a strong acid, that is if the ligand L is a weak base, than a quantity of ammonium hydroxide may be added to precipitate the chromium. The water soluble chromium salt may be any water soluble salt that is convenient to use such as halide, sulfate, nitrate, etc. The hydrated chromium oxide slurry is then mixed with a solution of the thiometallate prepared by dissolving ammonium thiometallate in an excess of the ligand or mixture of ligands. A small amount of water may be added if desired. On mixing the slurry with the thiometallate solution an orange-red colored precipitate forms which is recovered by filtration. This precipitate will be a precursor of a composition of this invention.

The salts (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄) may generally be prepared by dissolving the ammonium thiometallate in excess of the ligand L. The salt is recovered as a precipitate by addition of water or some other suitable antisolvent such as methanol or acetone.

The compositions or catalysts of this invention will be prepared by heating one or more precursors, in an oxygen-free environment in the presence of sulfur at a temperature of at least about 200° C. for a time sufficient to form the catalyst. Although the sulfur required during the formation of the catalyst may be present in the precursor, it is preferred that the sulfur be present in an amount in excess of that contained in the precursor. Thus, it is preferred that the composition be formed by heating the precursor in the presence of excess sulfur in the form of a sulfur bearing compounds. Mixtures of hydrogen and H₂ S have been found to be particularly suitable. Preferably the temperature will range between from about 250°-600° C., more preferably from about 250°-500° C. and still more preferably from about 300°-400° C. The oxygen-free environment may be gaseous, liquid or mixture thereof.

The compositions of this invention were established using a number of analytical techniques briefly described below.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was done by grinding a sample to fine powder and packing it into an alumina tray, containing a cylindrical recess 25 mm in diameter and 1 mm in depth. The top surface of the sample was flat and co-planar with the top of the aluminum tray after this preparation. Measurements were made in ambient atmosphere using a Siemens D500 X-ray diffractometer in θ-2θ reflection (Bragg-Brentano) geometry. The incident X-ray beam was taken from a fixed anode copper target with a wavelength of 1.54178 Å. The diffracted beams were monochromated using a graphite monochromator to minimize fluoresence and were detected using a proportional counter detector. Data were collected by stepping the detector in angular increments of 0.020°2θ and counting at each step for two seconds. The intensity and angular information were stored in a PDP 1103 computer and subsequently plotted as detected counts in 2 seconds versus 2θ.

The morphology and crystal structrue determination of the constituent phases were carried out using high resolution and analytical electron microscopy. In this procedure, described in P.C. Flynn et al., J. Catal., 33, 233-248 (1974), the transition metal sulfide powder is prepared for the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) by crushing in an agate mortar and pestle to produce powder fragments through which an electron beam can pass. The crushed powder is ultransonically dispersed in hexane and a drop of this suspension is allowed to dry onto a standard 3 mm TEM grid, which is covered with a thin (≦200 Å) amorphous carbon film. Samples were analyzed in a Philips 400T FEG TEM at 100 KV by bright field imaging, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, and microdiffraction.

Quantitative chemical analysis was obtained by the thin foil ratio method, as described in G. Cliff and G. W. Lovimer; J. Microscopy, 1975, Volume 103, Page 203, and absorption effects were analyzed and corrected using the procedure described by Goldstein, et al. in "Introduction to Analytical Electron Microscopy", J. J. Hren, J. I. Goldstein, and D. C. Joy eds, Plenum Press, New York, N.Y. 1979, Page 83. X-ray fluorescent spectra was generated from the excited volume of a sample defined by a cylinder of 100 Å probe size and the thickness of the sample (typically 1000 Å).

As discussed under Background of the Disclosure, molybdenum and tungsten sulfide catalysts have many uses, including hydrotreating. Hydrotreating conditions vary considerably depending on the nature of the hydrocarbon being hydrogenated, the nature of the impurities or contaminants to be reacted or removed, and, inter alia, the extent of conversion desired, if any. In general however, the following Table illustrates typical conditions for hydrotreating a naphtha boiling within a range of from about 25° C. to about 210° C., a diesel fuel boiling within a range of from about 170° C. to 350° C., a heavy gas oil boiling within a range of from about 325° C. to about 475° C., a lube oil feed boiling within a range of from about 290° to 550° C., or residuum containing from about 10 percent to about 50 percent of a material boiling above about 575° C.

    ______________________________________                                         Typical Hydrotreating Conditions                                                                             Space  Hydrogen                                                      Pressure  Velocity                                                                              Gas Rate                                  Feed      Temp., °C.                                                                        psig      V/V/Hr SCF/B                                     ______________________________________                                         Naphtha   100-370   150 -800   0.5-10                                                                               100-2000                                  Diesel Fuel                                                                              200-400   250-1500  0.5-4  500-6000                                  Heavy Gas Oil                                                                            260-430   250-2500  0.3-2  1000-6000                                 Lube Oil  200-450   100-3000  0.2-5   100-10,000                               Residuum  340-450   1000-5000 0.1-1  2000-10,000                               ______________________________________                                    

It should be noted that the compositions of this invention are useful catalysts for lube oil refining processes where it is desirable to remove oxidation initiating nitrogen compounds from lube oil feeds.

The invention will be further understood by reference to the following examples.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Precursor Preparation

A chromium thiomolybdate catalyst precursor was prepared by dissolving 40 grams of ammonium thiomolybdate into 82 ml of diethylenetriamine in a 1 liter flask which formed a dark red solution. The sides of the flask were washed with distilled water and the flask was cooled to 0° C. In a separate flask 27.56 grams of CrCl₃.6H₂ O was dissolved into 250 ml of distilled water. Diethylenetriamine(dien), 25 ml, was added to form a precipitate. The resulting slurry was allowed to stand for 2-3 hours and then added slowly, with agitation, to the (NH₄)₂ MoS₄ /dien solution. This resulted in the formation of a bright orange precipitate which was then stirred while on the ice bath for a half hour after the addition was completed. The precipitate was then separated by filtration, washed with water and ethanol and dried at ambient temperature under vacuum. Ninety-one grams of precursor were recovered as an orange colored precipitate. The precursor had the approximate (calculated) formula [Cr(OH)₃.1.5H₂ O](H₂ dien)₁.1 (MoS.sub. 4)₁.1. Elemental analysis of the precursor is set forth below in wt. %.

    ______________________________________                                                Cr    Mo     S       C    H    N    O                                   ______________________________________                                         Precursor                                                                               10.0    20.1   28.0  12.3 4.8  10.5 14.3                              ______________________________________                                    

Catalyst Preparation

The precursor was pelletized using a 4% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol as a binder, loaded into a stainless steel reactor and purged for one hour under nitrogen at 100° C. and atmospheric pressure. Ten percent of hydrogen sulfide in hydrogen was introduced into the reactor at a rate of 0.75 SCF/hr for each 10cc of catalyst in the reactor. The temperature in the reactor was then raised to 325° C. and held at this temperature for three hours to form the catalyst after which the temperature in the reactor was lowered to 100° C., the H₂ S/H₂ gas flow was stopped and the reactor was purged with nitrogen and allowed to cool to room temperature.

Elemental analyses of the catalyst or composition of this invention formed by sulfiding the precursor is set forth below in wt. %.

    ______________________________________                                         Cr     Mo         S      C       H    N                                        ______________________________________                                         15.6   33.5       37.6   3.5     0.81 1.16                                     ______________________________________                                    

Reaction Conditions

About 20 g of the catalyst was loaded into a fixed-bed reactor. Hydrotreating was carried out at the conditions set forth below:

    ______________________________________                                         Temperature         325° C.                                             Pressure            3.15 MPa                                                   Hydrogen rate       3000 SCF/bbl                                               LHSV                3.0 V/V/Hr.                                                ______________________________________                                    

Liquid product was analyzed for total sulfur by X-ray fluorescence and for nitrogen by combustion analysis. The feedstock used was a light catalystic cycle oil (LCCO) that was about 20 wt. % paraffinic having nominal properties set forth in Table 1.

Hydrotreating Experiment

In this experiment, the results obtained from the catalyst composition of this invention was compared to results obtained from a commercial hydrotreating catalyst comprising nickel molybdate on --Al₂ O₃. This catalyst contained 18 percent molybdenum oxide and 3.5 percent nickel oxide supported on gamma alumina. The commercial catalyst was sulfided employing the same procedure used to form the catalysts of this invention, except that the temperature was 360° C. for one hour.

The results of these experiments are shown in Tables 2 and 3 and show that the catalyst of this invention is not only a useful hydrotreating catalyst but has higher selectivity for hydrodenitrogenation than the commercial nickel molybdate on alumina catalyst.

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         LCCO Feed                                                                      Gravity (°API)                                                                          18.6                                                           Sulfur, wt. %    1.4                                                           Nitrogen, ppm   292                                                            GC distillation                                                                Wt. %           Temp., °C.                                               5              231                                                            10              251                                                            50              293                                                            70              321                                                            90              352                                                            95              364                                                            ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Hydrotreating Activity for Commercial Nickel                                   Molybdate on Alumina                                                           Catalyst Hours                                                                 on Stream        % HDS    % HDN                                                ______________________________________                                         49               80.0     32.3                                                 71               80.8     38.6                                                 75               80.0     37.6                                                 ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Hydrotreating Activity for Catalyst Prepared From                              Chromium Promoted Thiomolybdate Precursor                                      Catalyst Hours                                                                 on Stream        % HDS    % HDN                                                ______________________________________                                         66               50.2     78.8                                                 ______________________________________                                    

The catalyst of this invention was inspected by a number of analytical techniques, as described briefly above.

Electron microscopy of the fresh catalyst prepared in this example has revealed that the molybdenum microcrystallite sizes generally had dimensions less than about 0.1 microns by 0.01 microns. The chromium sulfide was present as distinct regions of amorphous material in which less than 5% of crystalline forms were discernable with the 4 Å point-to-point resolution instrument used.

After the catalyst had been on stream for three days, as shown in Tables 1 and 3, it was removed from the reactor for analysis. Examination of electron micrographs of this composition, taken at a magnification of 680,000X, revealed the presence of many lines 6.2A apart and generally not more than 150A in length. It is well known in the art [see, for example, R. R. Chianelli, International Reviews in Physical Chemistry, (1982), 2(127-165)] that such lines with the 6.2A spacings are characteristic of MoS₂.MoS₂ occurs in layers which are seen to be highly disordered and occurring singly or stacked but in the micrograph the degree of stacking is generally not more than eight stacks and usually not more than four stacks. The Cr₂ S₃ phase was observed to be completely amorphous. In some cases a small amount of crystalline Cr₂ S₃ phase was detected, but only as a minority phase. The predominant material, which is the catalytically active composition of this invention, is a mixture of microcrystalline MoS₂ or WS₂ or mixture thereof with amorphous Cr₂ S₃.

The catalyst composition of this Example was also analyzed by X-ray diffraction, both fresh and after being on stream for three days. There was no discernable difference in the diffraction patterns. The diffraction patterns obtained were consistent with MoS₂ microcrystallites of the size observed by the electron microscope. The X-ray diffraction patterns contained a broad peak between approximately 10 and 15' 2θ which is indicative of stacks of MoS₂ crystallites with a stack number of about 4. There was no evidence in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns for any crystalline chromium sulfide phase. The XRD thus supports the electron microscopy results in indicating that the chromium sulfide is amorphous.

Example 2

In this experiment a chromium molybdenum sulfide on alumina catalyst was prepared using the procedure set forth in Example 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,615. Thus, 24.2 grams of (NH₄)₆ Mo₇ O₂₄.4H₂ O(APM) were dissolved in 150 ml of water. One-half of this solution was used to impregnate 26.6 grams of a reforming grade --Al₂ O₃ that had been calcined to remove water. The impregnate was dried overnight at 100° C. and reimpregnated with the other half of the APM solution. The resulting impregnate was again dried overnight at 100° C. and then calcined in air for four hours at 550° C. To the calcined impregnate was added a hot (80°-100° C.) solution of 20 g of Cr₂ (SO₄)₃ in 50 ml of water, followed by drying overnight at 100° C. to form 58.7 g of a green colored, chromium molybdate precursor. This precursor was then pelletized and screened to -20 to +40 mesh.

The screened precursor was placed in the reactor and contacted with flowing hydrogen at room temperature. The temperature was then raised to 288° C. and held there for one-half hour, followed by raising the temperature to 450° C., holding for one-half hour and then raised to 510° C. and held at 510° C. for one-half hour. The reactor temperature was then lowered to 316° C., and the hydrogen replaced with a 10% H₂ S in H₂ mixture. The flowing H₂ S/H₂ mixture contacted the precursor for three hours at 316° C. The LCCO feed was then introduced employing the procedure set forth above, again at an LHSV of 3.0 V/V/hr. The results are set forth below in Table 4.

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                         Catalyst Hours                                                                 on Stream        % HDS    % HDN                                                ______________________________________                                         48               23.8     5.8                                                  70               24.4     5.2                                                  ______________________________________                                    

These results are much different from the results obtained for a chromium molybdenum sulfide catalyst of this invention employing the same feed and reaction conditions set forth in Table 3. Thus, the chromium promoted catalyst of this invention is much superior in both HDS and HDN activity to the chromium promoted catalyst disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,615. These comparative results also established that the catalyst of this invention is a different catalyst from that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,615.

Example 3

In this example, the composition of this invention was prepared by precipitating the thiomolybdate of (dien) onto colloidal Cr₂ O₃, drying and sulfiding. The resultant solid was tested as a hydrotreating catalyst. The amount of Cr₂ O₃ used was in excess of that amount needed to form the unsupported species of this invention so that the excess Cr₂ O₃ served as a support.

5.207 g of (NH₄)₂ MoS₄ (0.02 m) was dissolved in 50 ml of diethylenetriamine (dien) in an ice bath. A 22 wt. % (0.09 m) aqueous dispersion of colloidal Cr₂ O₃ (Nyacol) containing 13,69 g of Cr₂ O₃ was diluted to 200 ml with water and transferred to a 100 ml round bottom flask provided with a mechanical stirrer. The thiomolybdate solution was added slowly with agitation, stopping occasionally to break up any gel formed with a spatula.

The slurry was filtered, the solid washed with acetone and dried in a vacuum at 50° C. A sample of the solid was ground and sieved to 20/40 mesh. This catalyst precursor had the following composition:

    ______________________________________                                         Element  S      Mo       Cr   C      H    N                                    ______________________________________                                         wt. %    3.26   3.18     19.0 18.77  6.14 14.80                                ______________________________________                                          The material was sulfided as described in Example 1. It is believed that      the final catalyst contained about 60 wt. % chromia.

Evaluation of the composition as a catalyst was carried out in an automated, continuously stirred tank reactor unit consisting of a one liter autoclave, calibrated feed burrete, pump, gas-liquid separator, and product liquid collector. In a typical experiment, 20 cc of catalyst were charged in a stainless steel basket which was placed inside the autoclave.

Operating conditions and hydrotreating results are listed in Table 5.

                  TABLE 5                                                          ______________________________________                                         Operating Conditions and Hydrotreating Results                                 ______________________________________                                         Feed                LCCO                                                       Temperature, °C.                                                                            325                                                        Pressure, MPa       3.15                                                       Hydrogen Rate, SCF/Bbl                                                                             3000                                                       LHSV, V/V/hr         1                                                         % HDS               38                                                         % HDN               46                                                         ______________________________________                                    

Example 4

A 34 wt. % suspension of colloidal silica, 147 g, was diluted with 100 g of distilled water. A solution of 26.4 g of Cr(NO₃)₃.9H₂ O in 35 g of distilled water was added to this colloidal suspension. A solution of 25.8 g of (NH₄)₂ MoS₄ in 100 ml ethylene diamine was added dropwise to the silica suspension with constant agitation, and the stirring continued for 20-30 minutes after all the en solution had been added. A precipitate formed which was filtered and dried in a vacuum oven at 50° C., sulfided as in Example 1 and rescreened to 20/40 mesh.

Reaction Conditions

The same reaction conditions were employed as in Example 1. The results shown in Table 6 were obtained.

                  TABLE 6                                                          ______________________________________                                         Hydrotreating With Supported Catalyst                                          Run Length, hrs. % HDS    % HDN                                                ______________________________________                                         48               36.9     35.3                                                 69               32.1     24.9                                                 140              33.3     25.4                                                 ______________________________________                                    

While desulfurization level is much lower than that achieved with a commercial catalyst (see Table 2, Example 1) the denitrogenation obtained with this supported catalyst is about the same order as with commercial catalyst. This shows that the ratio of HDN/HDS activity of the supported catalyst of this invention is higher than that of commercial catalyst. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for hydrorefining a hydrocarbon feed to reduce the contents of nitrogen compounds and sulfur compounds in said feed which comprises contacting said feed at an elevated temperature of at least about 150° C. and in the presence of hydrogen with a catalyst consisting essentially of a mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of a metal sulfide of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixture thereof, said contacting occurring for a time sufficient to hydrorefine at least a portion of said feed.
 2. The process of claim 1 wherein said catalyast composition exhibits no crystallinity for the chromium sulfide when measured by X-Ray diffraction.
 3. The process of claim 2 wherein said microcrystallites of metal sulfide of Mo, W and mixture thereof have major dimensions of less than about 0.1 microns by 0.01 microns.
 4. The process of claims 1 or 3 wherein said catalyst is formed by placing one or more catalyst precursors in a reactor; removing the oxygen from the atmosphere thereof; and heating said precursors at a temperature of at least about 200° C., in the presence of sulfur for a time sufficient to form said catalyst, wherein said precursor is formed by mixing a slurry of a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium with one or more salts containing a thiometallate anion of Mo, W or mixture thereof and a cation containing the conjugate acid of one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, to precipitate the thiometallate salt or salts onto the particles of hydrated chromium oxide and recovering the precursor.
 5. The process of claim 4 wherein said precursor comprises a mixture of (a) a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium and (ii) a thiometallate salt of the general formula (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄), wherein y is any value ranging from 0 to 1, wherein L' is the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, L, with a charge sufficient to balance the dinegative charge of the thiometallate anion and wherein L is one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand.
 6. The process of claim 5 wherein ligand L is selected from the group consisting of alkyl amines, aryl amines, nitrogen heterocycles and mixtures thereof.
 7. The process of claims 1 or 2 wherein said catalyst is formed by placing one or more catalyst precursors in a reactor; removing the oxygen from the atmosphere thereof; and heating said precursors at a temperature of least about 200° C., in the presence of sulfur for a time sufficient to form said catalyst, wherein said precursor is prepared by mixing a slurry of particles of hydrated chromium oxide with a solution of thiometallate salt prepared by dissolving an ammonium thiometallate of Mo, W or mixture thereof in an excess of one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand to form a precursor precipitate and recovering said precursor.
 8. The process of claim 4 wherein said thiometallate salt is of the general formula (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄), wherein y is any value ranging from 0 to 1, wherein L' is the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, L, with a charge sufficient to balance the dinegative charge of the thiometallate anion and wherein L is one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand.
 9. The process of claim 8 wherein ligand L is selected from the group consisting of alkyl amines, aryl amines, nitrogen heterocycles and mixtures thereof.
 10. A process for hydrorefining a hydrocarbon feed to reduce the contents of nitrogen compounds and sulfur componds in said feed which comprises contacting said feed at an elevated temperature of at least 150° C. and in the presence of hydrogen with an unsupported with catalyst formed by placing one or more precursors in a reactor; removing the oxygen from the atmosphere thereof; and heating said precursors at a temperature of at least about 200° C. in the presence of sulfur for a time sufficient to form said catalyst, wherein said precursor consists essentially of a mixture of (i) a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium and (ii) a thiometallate salt of the general formula (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄), wherein y is any value ranging from 0 to 1, wherein L' is the conjugate acid of one ore more ligands, L, with a charge sufficient to balance the di-negative charge of the thiometallate anion and wherein L is one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand, wherein said feed is contacted with said catalyst for a time sufficient to hydrorefine at least a portion of said feed.
 11. The process of claim 10 wherein said catalyst is formed in the presence of excess sulfur in the form of a sulfur-bearing compound.
 12. The process of claim 11 wherein ligand L is selected from the group consisting of alkyl amines, aryl amines, nitrogen heterocycles and mixtures thereof.
 13. The process of claim 12 wherein ligand L is one or more chelating polydentate amines.
 14. The process of claim 13 wherein L is one or more alkyl amines.
 15. The process of claim 14 wherein said catalyst is placed in a oxygen-free atmosphere containing a mixture of H₂ and H₂ S.
 16. A process for removing nitrogen from a nitrogen-containing hydrocarbon feed which comprises contacting said feed at an elevated temperature of at least about 150° C. and in the presence of hydrogen with a catalyst consisting essentially of a mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of metal sulfide of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixture thereof, said contacting occurring for a time sufficient to remove nitrogen from at least a portion of said feed.
 17. The process of claim 16 wherein said feed is a lube oil feed.
 18. The process of either of claims 16 or 17 wherein said catalyst composition exhibits no crystallinity for the chromium sulfide when measured by X-Ray diffraction.
 19. The process of claim 18 wherein said microcrystallites of metal sulfide of Mo, W and mixture thereof have major dimensions of less than about 0.1 microns by 0.01 microns.
 20. The process of claim 19 wherein said catalyst is formed by placing one or more catalyst precursors in a reactor; removing the oxygen from the atmosphere thereof; and heating said precursors at a temperature of at least about 200° C., in the presence of sulfur for a time sufficient to form said catalyst, wherein said precursor is formed by mixing a slurry of a hdyrated oxide of trivalent chromium with one or more salts containing a thiometallate anion of Mo, W or mixture thereof and a cation containing the conjugate acid of one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand, to precipitate the thiometallate salt or salts onto the particles of hydrated chromium oxide and recovering the precursor.
 21. The process of claim 20 wherein said precursor comprises a mixture of (a) a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium and (ii) a thiometallate salt of the general formula (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄), wherein y is any value ranging from 0 to 1, wherein L' is the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, L, with a charge sufficient to balance the dinegative charge of the thiometallate anion and wherein L is one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand.
 22. The process of claim 21 wherein ligand L is selected from the group consisting of alkyl amines, aryl amines, nitrogen heterocycles and mixtures thereof.
 23. A process for improving the oxidation stability of a nitrogen and sulfur containing lube oil feed which comprises contacting said feed at an elevated temperature of at least about 150° C. and in the presence of hydrogen with a catalyst consisting essentially of a mixture of (i) an amorphous sulfide of trivalent chromium and (ii) microcrystallites of metal sulfides of a metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W and mixture thereof, said contacting occurring for a time sufficient to improve the oxidation stability of said lube oil feed.
 24. The process of claim 23 wherein said catalyst is formed by placing one ore more catalyst precursors in a reactor; removing the oxygen from the atmosphere thereof; and heating said precursors at a temperature of at least about 200° C., in the presence of sulfur for a time sufficient to form said catalyst, wherein said precursor is prepared by mixing a slurry of particles of hydrated chromium oxide with a solution of thiometallate salt prepared by dissolving an ammonium thiometallate of Mo, W or mixture thereof in an excess of one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand to form a precursor precipitate and recovering said precursor.
 25. The process of claim 24 wherein said thiometallate salt is of the general formula (L') (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) S₄), wherein y is any value ranging from 0 to 1, wherein L' is the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, L, with a charge sufficient to balance the dinegative charge of the thiometallate anion and wherein L is one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands, at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand.
 26. The process of claim 25 wherein ligand L is selected from the group consisting of alkyl amines, aryl amines, nitrogen heterocycles and mixtures thereof. 